November7, 2017

Washington, D.C. – Today, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) made the following statement about the mishandling of criminal history data for the mass shooting perpetrator in Sutherland Springs, Texas:

““It is unbelievably devastating to hear that multiple data entry errors by the Air Force allowed someone who should have been prohibited from purchasing a firearm to buy one, and use it to kill at least 26 people. This tragedy should not have happened and these processes need to be fixed.

“These facts only reinforce the need to improve background check databases such as NICS, and expand who must receive such checks before obtaining a firearm. Systems like this can help stop horrific acts like what happened in Texas before they occur, but only when supplied with appropriate information.”